Just FYI…Glenn Miller is dead, but big bands live.
The Canadian tundra swings with rich harmonies and a clever mix of poetry and pulses delivered by the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra. A number of the cleverly arranged charts include vocals. Sarah Slean, takes you on a journey on “The Hand” from the Gil Evans-inspired “Twisting Ways” suite, which includes rich piano work by David Braid during “Opening Glimmers”. Mike Murlyey gives a Coltranesque tenor sax solo as he teams with vocalist Karly Epp on the impressionistic “Lydian Sky” and she also contributes to Stefan Bauer’s vibe work on the post bopping “Fleur Variations 3”. The poems themselves give reflections of today’s spiritual environment, giving challenges and hope for the future. Not a bad combination all around.
Veteran post bop trumpeter Tim Hagans with the explorative NDR Big Band for a five movement opus that resembles vintage Mingus in terms of looseness and adventurous swing. The most elegiac moments come with fluffy woodwinds on “Movement V” which features a rich solo by Klaus Heidenreich/tb and one by the leader. The team gets somber on “Movement II”, a theme including bassist Ingmar Heller stretching out, and while we’re on the talking of “stretching”, there’s a lot of it going around on the free spirited “ Movement I” and darkly lurking of “Movement III” with murky solos delivered by Daniel Buch/ bcl, Claus Stotter/fh and Stefan Lottermann/tb. Mercury in the palm of your hand.